Preventing illegal activities on new characters

[aldo]

NO

[Chaishi]

You guys are missing a point here, main suggestion was this being about "FIRST FIVE HOURS" which was adjustable. You could go on as high as forty, which I find totally unnecessary. But first five hours? I think that is actually pretty reasonable. This prevents people from committing crimes in their burners right away and also creates a breathing space for the new people. There are other issues with it, obviously, but those can be polished away if we as a community are willing to.

[Entity]

As some people have pointed out, it'd be a good idea but it would not work in practice. It's little pay-off compared to a lot of hard work and a huge burden added to the responsibilities of the staff team.

[DasFroggy]

Honestly, this would be a fairly easy means to filter out a lot of the excessive low-quality criminal roleplay. People can make only so many alt accounts before consequences catch up, and this time barrier would force them to actually invest time per character to get into criminal roleplay.

 

Three to five hours is reasonable and sensible, as it is not too much for one character, but it absolutely adds up and hinders someone trying to make thirty alt accounts.

 

This would likely make matters vastly easier for staff as well, like a quality filter that engages quickly. Make a clear and obvious indication of the three/five hour rule, and if someone breaks it, it is immediately obvious they did not read the rules.

[Entity]

3 minutes ago, DasFroggy said:

Honestly, this would be a fairly easy means to filter out a lot of the excessive low-quality criminal roleplay. People can make only so many alt accounts before consequences catch up, and this time barrier would force them to actually invest time per character to get into criminal roleplay.

 

Three to five hours is reasonable and sensible, as it is not too much for one character, but it absolutely adds up and hinders someone trying to make thirty alt accounts.

 

This would likely make matters vastly easier for staff as well, like a quality filter that engages quickly. Make a clear and obvious indication of the three/five hour rule, and if someone breaks it, it is immediately obvious they did not read the rules.

That is true and very fair, but how can it be verified and how would punishments be issued if this rule was to be broken? There isn't an easy way to check whether the person you're fighting with has under or over 5 hours.

 

Secondly, there should be a clear distinction of what illegal roleplay is acceptable and what is not - after all, everyone's first action on a new character is breaking the law (driving to the DMV without a license). Would driving in the wrong lane, spitting on someone or provoking a fight fit under illegal roleplay or not? If all types of illegal roleplay are forbidden, then all characters will have a boring first few hours (not because of the restriction but because of the fact they're being restricted).

 

Also, how would new players react to such a rule? It might be an easy rule to follow for experienced or old players but new players who are just started roleplaying and just joined the server would have a hard time following this rule. Lots of them make some silly but honest mistakes while learning the ropes and end up being great members of the community - starting their journey with administrative punishments would not be great. The most pressing issue is the first point, however.

[Apa]

Can't see any issue with this. I don't think I committed an illegal act for my first two weeks when I first attempted to join my faction. 

 

I dont think a figure as high as 40 hours should be enforced though personally. 

[Smilesville]

7 minutes ago, Entity said:

That is true and very fair, but how can it be verified and how would punishments be issued if this rule was to be broken? There isn't an easy way to check whether the person you're fighting with has under or over 5 hours.

Color their name pink or something.

 

Void the situation they got involved with, reset their prohibition timer, and tack on whatever ban/ajail/etc seems fitting for repeat offenders.

Edited February 11, 2021 by Smilesville

[Entity]

7 minutes ago, Smilesville said:

Color their name pink or something.

 

Void the situation they got involved with, reset their prohibition timer, and tack on whatever ban/ajail/etc seems fitting for repeat offenders.

That's a good idea, actually. Okay, maybe not pink, but this suggestion, combined with coloring the names of new players into something subtle but noticeable could make this suggestion work.

 

Although, all in all, I don't even know if it is needed. The people who create characters in order to engage in trollish or sub-par roleplay are being dealt with anyway (and it also adds to their administrative records) and there's lots of new characters which do, in more or less depth, engage in perfectly acceptable illegal roleplay.

[DasFroggy]

21 minutes ago, Entity said:

That is true and very fair, but how can it be verified and how would punishments be issued if this rule was to be broken? There isn't an easy way to check whether the person you're fighting with has under or over 5 hours.

I was on the verge of posting a snarky response involving the comparison of character creation times and the times in a player report, when I scrolled down...

 

14 minutes ago, Smilesville said:

Color their name pink or something.

This brilliance is... it causes a headache knowing that Smilesville conjured a solution so brilliant in such a short time frame. Honestly, he must be an engineer or something.

 

21 minutes ago, Entity said:

Secondly, there should be a clear distinction of what illegal roleplay is acceptable and what is not - after all, everyone's first action on a new character is breaking the law...

Anything immediately actionable by police. Driving to the DMV is overlooked and largely considered not actionable, whereas muggings are. Next question..

 

21 minutes ago, Entity said:

Also, how would new players react to such a rule?

By following it. People should not be committing crime the second they leave the airport. This will further ease them into the attitude of settling in to the city, learning the terrain, establishing a basic support structure. It forces them to invest in their new character, rather than treat them as some easily discarded coat of paint over the same malicious attitude that should not exist on the server to begin with.

 

This suggestion would deliver a nigh fatal blow to griefers and low-quality criminal roleplayers that disregard the heavy roleplay server standards. Administrative work would be made vastly easier, as the evidence would be immediately visible and actionable, instead of needing to dig up logs and sift through hours of recordings.

 

"Your name's pink and you mugged someone right out of the airport. Use this ten minute ajail to read the rules you obviously didn't read."

Edited February 11, 2021 by DasFroggy

[Smilesville]

27 minutes ago, Entity said:

Okay, maybe not pink, but this suggestion, combined with coloring the names of new players into something subtle but noticeable could make this suggestion work.

[...]

The people who create characters in order to engage in trollish or sub-par roleplay are being dealt with anyway (and it also adds to their administrative records) and there's lots of new characters which do, in more or less depth, engage in perfectly acceptable illegal roleplay.

Maybe pastel green would work better - or an asterisk after the name if someone toggles colorblind mode. Anything that doesn't confuse a player by making them think they're talking with an admin whose name is red. (Maybe pink wasn't the best suggestion.)

 

Sure, but the change is just so easy and allows these people to be dealt with in much quicker fashion. Rather than sorting through evidence for a day or two, you can spot a pink name and slap them in a matter of minutes.

 

I definitely want to emphasize that only very particular crimes should fall under this umbrella. Drug dealing is great, robberies on a BF400 are not.

 

20 minutes ago, DasFroggy said:

Honestly, he must be an engineer or something.

That was my "low-effort solutions" brain talking. 😂

My sister is the engineer, I'm a DJ. It's nothing like in-game.

Edited February 11, 2021 by Smilesville